The Scars We Bare
by Objective Mistress
Summary: The Harmonic Convergence is over. Vaatu defeated. While on the surface all is well, the Avatar does not leave unscathed. Time can only heal some wounds, but others require work. Mako must work with his again changing relationship with Korra, and the physical scars that transcend to emotional burdens. AU


**Rating:** M (for smut)

**Word count:** ~6700

**Pairing(s):** Makorra

**Summary:** The Harmonic Convergence is over. Vaatu defeated. While on the surface all is well, the Avatar does not leave unscathed. Time can only heal some wounds, but others require work. Mako must work with his again changing relationship with Korra, and the physical scars that transcend to emotional burdens. AU

**A/N:** So I started this before the finale, so the Harmonic Convergence goes a bit differently and of course I could not predict the finale. Despite that I decided to finish it and I think it's a good read. I hope you enjoy it!

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Five months had passed since the Harmonic Convergence, and Mako had seen very little of Korra. He had been there when she fell, crashing so hard into the polar show that she left a crater in her wake. He saw blood that smattered the pure white snow. _His_ (well perhaps not his anymore after the mess he made of things) Korra, beaten, bloodied, hurt, but yet triumphant. He remembered the feeling of pride swelling within his chest for what she had done and how hard she had fought for the fate of the world.

Mako was the first to reach the fallen Korra.

.

"_Korra!" He yelled, barely keeping his footing in the icy snow as he sprinted towards her._

_The Avatar didn't answer, her body still with her left arm splayed out at a sickeningly unnatural angle. That arm was surely broken. _

_He leaned down next to her, gently placing a hand on her forehead. A cut ran from her forehead, tangent to the corner of her right eye that gushed blood over her beautiful features. _

"_She's over here!" He hollered, catching the attention of Tenzin and the White Lotus guards who watched the Harmonic Convergence come to an end. _

_Mako turned his attention back to the girl on the ground. "Korra?" he half-whispered. He was terrified to even move her, afraid that he could hurt her more than she clearly was._

_He had no way of telling what exactly had injured her. While he, Bolin, Tenzin and the White Lotus guards had fought off dark spirits at the perimeter, the battle had been shrouded by the boundaries between the two worlds. Mako took her undamaged hand in his, giving it a small squeeze. His eye caught on an odd looking injury. It looked like a straight streak of black with red borders that peeked out from her tank top and twisted around her upper bicep. It didn't look like blood or a typical wound._

"_Please stay with us Korra. We need you. I need you. Please hang in there…"_

_As much as he wanted to examine it further, he was still too afraid to move her in her fragile state. The others reached them soon enough._

.

Mako would never forget how bloodied she looked. How utterly beaten and defeated she looked despite being so triumphant.

No one other than Tenzin and the healers saw her for a week after. Healing session after intense healing session occurred while Mako, Bolin, and Asami sat awkwardly outside. The events of the previous weeks hung heavily over their heads. In fact, history began to repeat itself as Mako insisted on spending all his waking moments waiting outside Korra's room. He had even insisted on sleeping on the bench just next to the door. One of the waterbenders ended up feeling so badly for him that a small cot appeared after the second night.

On the second night, Asami had forced him out of his silence.

.

"_You still have feelings for Korra…don't you?"_

_Mako took a deep breath. "Yeah…yeah I do." He couldn't meet her eyes. "I was hurt. So much had gone wrong. The breakup, the whole police business, Bolin moving out…I needed a distraction and you were there."_

_His eyes were glued to the floor; his hands were glued to his sides out of the sheer discomfort of the situation. He really had a penchant for messing this up. Despite being someone that took care of himself and a younger brother on the rough streets of Republic City he was incredibly indecisive._

"_I'm sorry I used you like that. You're supposed to be a friend, and clearly I didn't value that enough to mess all of this up."_

"_Mako…" Asami stepped up next to him and placed a hand gingerly on his arm._

_He flinched slightly at the contact and she dropped her hands down to fiddle with the hem of her jacket._

"_I'm not stupid. But…" she took a deep breath to compose herself, "…I know what that feels like. I guess I wasn't over you yet."_

_They made eye contact._

"_You're not the only one at fault here. What I did definitively wasn't being a good friend to Korra." Asami nodded. "I think it's best we break this off for good and get some space."_

"_Any chance we could still be friends?"_

_She shrugged. Her usual fluid body movements were marred by muscle tension of obvious discomfort. "I-I don't know. We can't have it both ways. I mean we can't jump seamlessly from intimate to just friends. It doesn't work like that. You said you wouldn't do anything to hurt me…but in reality you've done quite a bit."_

_Mako's head hung with shame. He hadn't been thinking at all._

.

When the week passed, the healers were finally comfortable to let visitors in. Apparently the healer corps was on a twenty-four hour rotation to fix whatever damage had been done. Mako had no idea what had required such intense healing. No one had talked to him directly over the mater, but when the healers spoke to Tenzin and Korra's parents, he would look the other way but strain his ears to catch a few snippets of their conversation.

He had only managed to catch a few words, all the while avoiding the gaze of Tonraq, desperately hoping that he hadn't heard about what he did while Korra was away from Republic City. The man scared him enough when he was on good terms with Korra; he could only imagine what the burly Water Tribe man would do to him if he found out how he jerked around his only daughter's heart.

"Scarred."

"Mostly likely permanent."

"Never seen anything like it."

Mako watched her parents go in first, and then the airbending family. Maybe he would finally get his chance.

.

_Tenzin was facilitating visitors in and out. Mako, Asami, and Bolin were the last ones left._

"_Alright, you can go in one at a time," the airbending master turned in gaze to the three seated on the bench._

"_What exactly happened to her?" Mako's voice was laced with concern._

"_Broken arm, a few broken ribs, some bad bruising, and some…scarring from her wounds. I'm sure that my mother would be able to go into great specifics if you were so inclined." His gaze shifted to Bolin. "Korra would like to see you first."_

_Mako watched as his brother jumped to his feet to and half-sprinted into the room._

_A thick silence fell over the room between Tenzin, Asami, and Mako._

_Tenzin cleared his throat. "I'm not exactly sure what happened between the four of you as I learned that is far more comfortable all around if I am not privy to all of Korra's personal business." The airbender stopped to stroke his beard thoughtfully. "Bearing that in mind, I have nothing in particular to say other than to caution the two of you of Korra's state. She is very injured and as you know, and her Avatar duties still weight heavily on her mind."_

_Mako and Asami nodded._

_It seemed like ages until Bolin emerged with a somber smile._

"_She wants to see Asami next," the earthbender patted the Sato heiress on the shoulder gently._

_Mako could see the shock play across the carefully constructed façade Asami wore. He spent enough time with her to know that it was difficult to see through the stony business mask she had been trained to use. She was opposite to Korra in that respect; Asami held her emotions in like a pressurized container, while Korra simply spoke her mind and experienced what she was feeling in the interaction. That bottling up probably led Asami to kiss him in the first place. If he had just left it that way, a single kiss in a moment of great emotion. Instead, he just had to take it as an invitation to dive into something body first, with mind and emotion lagging painfully behind. _

_Asami didn't look back as she entered the room. Mako wanted nothing more than to creep up to the door and press his ear unabashedly to the crack in the door. But Bolin was there, who was also still angry with him. It seemed that everyone was angry with him; the worst part was everyone had a good reason to. _

_He and Bolin had talked earlier in the week. His brother was the only one of the group that had been a steadfast friend to Korra with her absence, and therefore was rightfully angry at his frankly ridiculous one-week turnaround. They seemed to bury the hatchet with their conversation, but like much healing, it would take time. There was only so much that treatment or conversation could do, at some point he had to know when to stop and let time take the reigns._

_The door creaked open and Asami quickly exited. She looked…relieved; whatever onslaught she had braced herself for had certainly not occurred. He wanted desperately to ask what went on between them, but it wasn't his business in the slightest. She gave him and nod, and held the door open for him._

_This was the moment; his first face-to-face conversation with Korra since the Harmonic Convergence. The talk they had before did not go well by any means of evaluation. He sputtered out a bad apology that blamed her, while she simply stood at home in the icy environment unfazed and determined to defeat Vaatu. She was a different woman. He had expected an outburst complete with out-of-control bending, but instead he met the Avatar who said that she didn't have the time to deal with the drama right now._

_Mako got to his feet, and entered the room slowly, closing the door quietly behind him._

"_Hey," he managed to croak, as his throat seemed to dry._

_Korra half smiled at him, "Hey."_

_He took the silence as an opportunity to get a good look at her. Her left arm was in a sling, and her right shoulder that he had noticed the odd wound on was wrapped in bandage down to mid-bicep. She was wearing a tank top looser fitting than usual, probably due to the broken ribs. When she turned to look at him, she moved in a more ginger fashion than he had ever before witnessed. Korra always moved with a special kind of grace that came from the strength she exerted in even the tiniest of motions. _

"_How are you?" he pulled up a seat to her bedside._

"_About as well as well as you'd think," she smiled. _

_Even in this condition she fought against being beaten. She was resilient as ever._

"_I was so worried about you," he reached out to touch her hand without even thinking._

_Lucky for her it was her functioning arm and she was able to flinch away and fiddle with her bandages. Mako's hands slunk back into his lap as if scalded._

_Reaching out to offer physical comfort had become something incredibly normal for Mako over the past six months. The contact between then was natural and happened without either of them thinking. Holding hands, kissing, making her feel as good as possible…damn he missed all of those. Mako couldn't help but wonder if that was something that he could earn back._

"_I saw you fall…" he hung his head. "I really don't think I ever want to see that again."_

"_Why, because things weren't settled between us?"_

_Her words stung. He deserved it. He really did._

_The two fell into an uneasy silence._

"_We need to talk, don't we?" Korra sighed, a slight grimace forming on her face as she clutched her ribs with her unbroken arm._

"_Yeah, yeah we do. I-"_

"_No," she cut him off. "Let me go first."_

_Mako took a look at her eyes. Despite her injured state, the azure orbs sparkled with the spunky energy he had come to know and love. Beneath the blue pools he could see the hurt and anger swirling just below the surface. Just as she had mastered her abilities in order to defeat Vaatu, she seemed to master emotional control also. He couldn't help but feel uneasy about this change. How had the girl he knew become so drastically altered in such a small timeframe?_

"_I'm really sorry for the way I treated you. My Avatar duties were piling up and I didn't know what to do or how to deal with it. So I took it out and lashed out at you. I realize how wrong that was, and you had plenty to deal with on your own. I was a real jerkbender." Korra's eyes moved to meet his. "What we had was great, but I wasn't really working with you. I now know that I just want you to be happy. And if Asami makes you happy, then that's what you should do."_

"_Korra…" he rubbed his upper arm out of unease. "Look, I did all that stuff too. I was just trying to advance in the police force. And Asami…that was all a mistake." _

_Mako tried desperately to catch her eyes that were trained into her lap. He had to make her see that he meant it. In their confrontation before the Harmonic Convergence, he had essentially played all the events off and waited for her to absolve him. After a bit of thinking, this simply wasn't the way this was going to work._

"_I needed the distraction, and I had no idea what I was doing." He stood up to get closer to her bedside. "If it makes you happy at all, Asami and I are through. For good this time-"_

"_Why? I thought she made you happy…"_

"_Not as happy as you make me. Korra, I love you," he held a hand out to see how she would react._

_Nothing. He dropped his hand to the mattress._

_He could see that her eyes were beginning to well up with tears._

"_I still have feelings for you Mako. But all the stuff that's happened between us doesn't get fixed right here. I really need some time to think about us." She looked up to him and placed her hand on to his. "I think we need to be friends again before we can be anything more."_

.

It was another week before the healers felt comfortable letting Korra move back to Republic City. She moved back in on Air Temple Island with orders to rest.

That of course didn't last long.

First it was playing with the airbending kids, racing and roaring around the island. She spent many quiet moments with Jinora talking in hushed tones. He still didn't exactly know what had transpired with the two in the Spirit World, but from what he had observed, it brought them immeasurably closer.

Mako moved back into his apartment, alone. Bolin decided to stick with his own apartment, alone. Asami moved to try to pick up the shreds that were left of Future Industries.

His reinstatement with the police force was dubious at best. Although when the dust settled, the truth won out with Beifong, the poor press wasn't making anyone's life easier as it lingered on the salacious and often false aspects of the story in order to keep driving up sales. The Chief asked him to wait a bit before things cooled down before coming back for reinstatement. Mako could see the regret in the experienced metalbender's eyes that she was also drawn in to the lies produced by corruption.

He had to fill his days somehow, and after a week of sitting idly by and walking the streets, he needed something more purposeful.

Mako woke up and took the ferry to Air Temple Island.

He was welcomed with open arms of course. After all, this family had literally opened their home to him when things went bad during the Equalist crisis. Ikki and Meelo were ecstatic to have their firebending playmate. Jinora on the other hand seemed to hold a small grudge against him. Mako imagined that as a spiritual guide to Korra, she had become a bit of a confidant too. The hopeless-romantic airbender avoided him with the infinite wisdom that came with being a preteen.

The Air Acolytes assigned to keep Korra from being overactive had hell to deal with. Once the Avatar got a taste of activity again it was hard to keep her down.

.

_Korra wore her characteristic pout as she ran through airbending forms on the east training ground._

"_What's wrong?" Mako hadn't been resting too far away when he noticed the expression quickly turning to a sour scowl. _

"_No one will train with me…they're all insisting all I should do is rest and mediate," she dropped to the ground in a huff._

"_Ever think they might be right?"_

_She shot him a glare._

"_I-I just want to make sure that you're okay," he backpedaled. "I mean…you're arm is still bandaged up. It's been a few weeks…"_

_She rubbed her arm, seemingly suddenly self-conscious of the persisting injury. "Look, why don't you just leave me alone?" _

_Mako couldn't fathom why the mentioning of the bandages on her arm could change the mood so drastically._

"_Well if you're not going to leave, I will," Korra turned to walk away._

_He had to take a risk. He reached out and caught her hand. The contact hit him like a small jolt of errant lightning bending. He missed her touch dearly, and to his great surprise she didn't pull away. _

_The firebender gave her hand a small squeeze. "Stay. I'll train with you."_

_The Avatar turned around; her face suddenly alit with energy. "You're on, City Boy!"_

.

It started with daily training only. Mako would ride the ferry over and they would push each other to their limits physically. Occasionally Korra would have to wave him off, her hands falling heavily on her knees as she struggled to catch her breath. The clash with Vaatu was still carried with her.

.

"_Hang on…" Korra dropped to her knees on the ground, her palms falling heavily against the stone ground._

_He rushed over to her side and put her hand on his back, "Are you okay?" His voice was laced with concern._

"_Yeah I just need a second."_

_Mako rubbed his hand and fingers in soothing circles on her back like he used to when they were together. He could feel the strong muscles of her back relax under his touch._

"_Can you help me up?" Her voice was quiet._

_He placed his hands under her arms and helped the unsteady Avatar to her feet. "Why don't we go for a walk instead?"_

.

So they did. Whenever the training got to her, they would walk without a destination. Mako would stuff his hands awkwardly in to his coat pockets. He couldn't help but remember all the times that before this mess unfolded they would walk, her warm hand in his.

At one point when Korra's very mortal body caught up to her Avatar-sized ambitions, she complained of hunger.

.

"_Maybe if I wasn't just so hungry," Korra complained, obviously fed up with her body's inability to perform at its previous level in the present._

"_Do you want to go out to eat?" He helped her up as he always did._

_She couldn't suppress a genuine grin at the promise at fresh food. "Narook's! And I'm buying!"_

.

It wasn't a date. It really wasn't. That didn't mean that the firebender didn't find the quality time wholeheartedly enjoyable.

As much as he would have liked it to be a romantic outing, it was just too soon. Restarting a relationship with Korra…well it couldn't be jumped into this time around. Their first coupling was sudden, to say the least. From that first rash kiss, to the quick "I love you" in the wake of a very sudden breakup with Asami, rushed was probably the most accurate term for his romantic relationship with the Avatar. After six months, it ended again in a Satomobile wreck as abrupt as it started. Mako didn't want that this time around. He was determined to take this slowly.

He missed her so damn much it hurt. He missed her sleeping next to him when she would make excuses to avoid heading back to Air Temple Island for the night. He missed just holding her hand and feeling her warmth while they sat close enjoying the radio. He missed catching her glance across the room and sharing a knowing look. Although it was straight off a page from one of the trashy romance novels Bolin left behind, it felt as if a part of him was missing. The mistakes they both made in the past weren't going to stop them from being successful moving forward.

After a few training lessons had ended in similar escapades through Republic City, and just over two months past the Harmonic Convergence, Mako decided it was time to make his move.

.

"_Hey Korra?"_

"_Yeah?"_

_Korra decided for the two of them that today would be an off day. Somehow they ended up lying amicably in the sun in the west garden._

"_Let me take you out for dinner tonight."_

_She must have noticed the tone change in his voice as she rolled over to face him. "Do you mean a like date?"_

_Mako swallowed hard. This shouldn't have been difficult. After all, he had dated the girl for six months and known her for more! While they were dating he had asked her out dozens of times. Now though, the potential for rejection seemed to well up like bile in the back of his throat. _

"_Yes errr…" he rolled over to face her, very aware of the proximity of their bodies. "A, um, date."_

_Part of him wanted to squeeze his eyes closed and brace himself for the answer._

"_I'd love that."_

.

They dated.

The first night went well; he could tell from the shy smile she gave over the shoulder when he watched her walk back to her quarters. It really wasn't much different than the walks they had shared as of late except for the general extra pressure that led to extra awkwardness that ensued. Mako considered it a great success that he convinced the fiercely independent Avatar to let him buy her meal. His heart skipped a beat when Korra's hand reached for his on the walk back to the docks from the Little Water Tribe neighborhood. He pulled her closer as they leaned against the railing of the ferry, watching the saffron glow of Republic City shrink. Not wanting to be to forward, he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and bid her a good night.

Korra asked _him _out on the second date. She dragged him across the city by hand and heart.

.

"_Korra where the hell are we going?" Mako looked around. Despite living on the streets of Republic City for his entire life, he had no idea where they could possibly be going._

"_It's this jazz club I overheard some people raving about!"_

_He grabbed her hand, "That's the third left turn in a row we've taken."_

"_Oh it is? I didn't notice…" she bit her lower lip in concentration. "We must need to go…that way!" the Avatar pointed down another street._

_Mako couldn't help but smirk, "You're lost, aren't you."_

"_N-No, of course not!" she looked around, "I just need to get my bearings again."_

_He crossed his arms smugly, "You're lost."_

_Her shoulders dropped, "Yeah so what?" Korra took a step closer to him, her chin tilted up to keep eye contact with their height difference._

"_The Avatar. Lost. I dunno, I think that's pretty amusing." _

_He watched her tongue dart between her lips; the proximity clearly wasn't lost on her. Mako studied her exotic features. Korra was beautiful by no stretch of the imagination. Even in the poor lighting of the alley, her blue eyes shined. He watched a corner of her mouth rise into the pleased, lopsided smile he had become so familiar with. Shuffling a tad be closer, he brushed a stray hair away from her face. One of hands came up, interlacing her fingers with this. Time seemed to be at a standstill. It didn't matter that they were lost; they were together._

_Korra grabbed him roughly by the coat, pulling him down into a searing kiss. It took him a moment to fully comprehend what had happened; she was always so full of surprises. Mako relaxed into the kiss, his eyes closed to enjoy the sensation. He cupped her face in a gloved hand, pulling her flush against him. _

_Their foreheads touched, lips parting to give way for much needed air. Amber eyes met blue._

"_That was…" he said through a smile._

"…_Sudden?" she smiled back, looping her arms around his neck._

"_I was going to say 'great,' but yeah, sudden works too."_

_She punched him lightly on the arm._

"_Hey!"  
_

"_You dork." _

_She pulled him down for another._

.

They didn't talk about labels right away, but it was clear that at this point they were together. At the expense of sounding more like the dork he was so often accused to be, just knowing that they were together was enough.

Dates out on the town were a common occurrence, but just spending the night in at his apartment, listening to the radio and cuddling on the couch were just as satisfying. Next would come the kissing that would escalate to wandering hands and their bodies pressed close. It always seemed like a battle for control between them, each fighting for the upper hand. He could feel the heat generated between them, even through the layers of clothing they had yet to remove.

As odd as it was to have Bolin's room empty, it was nice to know they weren't going to be interrupted. Mako couldn't count on two hands how many times his brother had walked in on him and Korra getting a bit hot and heavy before their break up. Luckily though he could only count on one had the number of times this had happened with one or both of them partially clothed.

None of this was new of course; any uncomfortably with the very physical side of their relationship was shed long ago.

Or at least he thought. Things started getting odd around three months after the Harmonic Convergence.

.

_Korra pulled him over into a rough kiss, threading her fingers into the short hairs at the back of his head._

_It had started as a night of takeout and closeness on the couch. Boots and jackets were shed at the door in anticipating of enjoying a great night in. Takeout containers filled with Earth Kingdom cuisine were empty on the table. _

_Mako could still taste the light cake they had for desert on her lips as his tongue sought hers. She was utterly intoxicating. He wanted her. It had truly been far too long. He held her to him, his fingers enjoying the feel of the muscles that made up her strong back. His lips kissed down her neck, down to the collar of her sleeveless shirt. She always loved when he did that, and he could feel the vibration from the small moan that escaped her lips. _

_Encouraged by her responses, he nipped gently at her exposed heck before reaching up to free her hair. In Mako's opinion, Korra didn't wear her hair down enough. Yes, he understood that it kept it out of her way, but the look of her with just the hanging wolf tails was unparalleled._

"_You know I love you…right?" He kissed up to her ear._

"_I love you too," she gasped, as he gently pushed her back on to the couch._

_The look of her hair fanned out on the cushion was enough to drive him wild. He covered her body with his. He loved the feeling of being pressed up against her. _

_Her lips moved to his neck, and he felt a strong hand reach around and give his ass a squeeze._

_Mako cupped her face, bringing her eyes to his. "Really?"_

_She grinned widely, "What can I say? It's-"_

_He cut her off with a hard kiss. "Less talking."_

_There were far too many layers of clothing between them. He kissed down Korra's unbandaged shoulder; he wasn't sure if the other still caused her pain. His fingers teased along the hem of her shirt, sliding under as he kissed down to her chest. Slowly, he began to pull at her shirt exposing a bit of her toned stomach._

"_No…stop."_

_Korra pushed him back, sitting up suddenly. The look on her face wasn't something he had ever seen before. It was a mix of panic and embarrassment. He had never seen her look so utterly uncomfortable as she swung her legs over the side of the couch to rest her elbows on her knees._

"_D-Did I do something wrong?" _

"_No…" the Avatar shook her head. "This one's on me, I'm so sorry…"_

"Korra…" he put a hand on her shoulder. "You have nothing to be sorry about at all! Maybe we've been moving too fast."

"_It's not that."_

"Then what is it?"

.

Korra didn't answer him that night. And she didn't any of the other days that he pressed her either. She seemed content to go on like nothing had happened.

That led them here, the present. Four months past the Harmonic Convergence.

She was due to meet him at his apartment any minute now. It was such a canned line, but he told her that they needed to talk. It was true. Just as things seemed to get better, things became impossibly worse. Suddenly they weren't communicating anymore. Usually when Korra was under stress she lashed out, her emotions breaking free without any thought to their effect. After all, she was the one with the big mouth. But this time, well it was odd; she didn't say anything.

A knock at the door signaled her arrival.

Mako took a deep breath. "Come on in," he said from the couch, dressed in a worn white tank top and loose fitting black pants.

"You…wanted to talk to me?" she took a timid step into the room.

Patting the cushion beside him and invited her in with a smile. "Yeah, why don't you have a seat?"

"What is this about?"

"You mean it isn't obvious?"

Korra looked down, her hands fidgeting in her lap.

"I'm worried about you," he reached over to quell her hands. "What happened the other week? We never talked about it…I don't know what I did wrong." He searched her eyes for any indication of what was going on in her head. "Look if I moved too fast that's one thing-"

"That's not it." He watched as she rubbed her bandaged arm as she got to her feat. "Some…stuff has changed."

"What could have possibly…" his eyes widened.

Slowly, Korra unwrapped the bandage on her arm. Beneath the cloth wrappings wasn't a healing wound or even a burn; it looked like a scar he had never seen. It looked like a black, twisting tendril, complete with red outline, of Vaatu was locked around her upper bicep to where it disappeared underneath her tank top.

"Remember how after Vaatu used up Unalaq the battle moved inside my body?" Her voice dripped with pain, "Well in the Spirit World, when a spirit possesses a human they can disfigure them. I got off lucky…"

Mako didn't know how to react. He felt frozen in place, his muscles were unresponsive and he just didn't know what to do. She hadn't said anything. Then again, he was the one who neglected to tell her about the reawakening of his relationship with Asami because he was a coward.

He stood, stepping up behind her. "D-Does it hurt?"

She nodded, her back facing him.

Gently, he brought a hand up to her shoulder. She flinched from first contact.

"Is this okay?"

Korra nodded again.

Slowly, he ran his hand down her upper arm, tracing some of the scarred markings left on her beautiful skin.

"I know…it's ugly…"

"Is that what you're concerned about?" He turned her around gently by her slumping shoulders.

"Well…I was no where near as beautiful as Asami to begin with," Korra refused to meet his eyes, "I have no idea where having this…scar…puts me."

"Korra…" he tipped her chin up with a finger. "You know a scar on your arm isn't going to stop me from loving you and your body…right?"

"It doesn't stop there…"

"C-Can I see?"

Wordlessly, she pulled her tank top over her head. The spiraling tendril marks twisted over her shoulders and chest, a few small ones crept down her midsection. He hated seeing her this way. He hated that Unalaq had brought this mottling down on his Avatar. All he wanted to do was make her feel loved in this moment.

He moved his hands towards her, looking for a silent motion of approval. Kneeling down, he brought his lips to one of the small tendrils. He kissed up the black mark until it disappeared beneath her traditional wrappings.

"I don't care," he continued kissing above her wrappings, "what has changed." Mako kissed up her neck, pressing his forehead against hers. "I love you-"

"But Asami-"

"It doesn't matter," he said in between kisses.

Mako met her eyes and drew his hands her back and to her wrappings. She nodded in silent approval and allowed him to pull it gently off her. The black markings continued underneath in the same twisting patter.

Korra looked away.

"Hey now," he squeezed her hand and led her into the bedroom. He flipped the lights out, leaving the room lit by only glow of Republic City through parted shades. "If you'll let me, I'd like to show you just how loved you are tonight."

"You don't have to…" she sat on the edge of the bed before reclining back on to the pillows.

"I know I don't _have_ to," he pulled his shirt off and crawled up next to her. "I _want_ to, that is, if you do. It's okay to say no."

Korra pulled him into a sweet kiss. "The darkness is nice. I can forget…"

"What you have isn't something you have to forget…but you know that. Now _please_ let me love you."

"Alright." She smiled, looking not fully convinced.

Mako pulled his shirt off before crawling up towards her from the foot of the bed. Slowly and deliberately, he kissed up her exposed stomach determined not to miss a square inch of her tanned skin.

"You look absolutely stunning," he smiled down at her. "And I love every bit of you."

He picked one of the black markings and followed the twisting form with feather-light kisses until it intersected one of her breasts. His other hand caressed up her side until it reached the other. He gently grazed his thumb over the dark pebbled nub. Mako kissed all around the other until finally he finally swirled his tongue around the nipple.

Korra gasped, her back arching off the sheets. Pleased with her reaction, he switched his mouth to the other breast. He kissed back up to her neck, latching on to that sensitive spot at the junction of her shoulder. His hands felt downward, fingers teasing the waistband of her pants.

"Mind if I…?"

She nodded, taking a moment to gently suck and nip at his earlobe.

Slowly, he peeled off the last two remaining layers of her clothing. "Spirits you're gorgeous."

"You're really laying it on thick tonight aren't you?" Korra smiled up at him.

"All truth," he winked playfully.

He ran his hands up her powerful thighs, following it up with kisses up the soft skin on the inside of one leg. Mako knew Korra could feel his hot breath against her core. Teasingly, he dipped one finger, two digits deep into her.

"You're so wet." He took his time, slowly plunging and relinquishing the single finger and out of her.

"Y-You know I always hated it slow-"

She was cut off by a moan when he added another finger and set an unrelenting pace. "Tonight is about you. Whatever you want, you get."

Mako watched her writhe; the mewls that escaped her lips increasing in volume. Korra clutched at the sheets, her chest heaving. It was such an utterly sexy sight. As if he could get any harder to begin with.

"Please…"

He didn't even have to ask what she wanted. Bringing his other hand up to her clit, he rubbed her most sensitive spot in tandem with the thrusts of his hand. He missed having the opportunity to watch her come undone like this. Mako truly considered it a privilege to have her love him back.

A loud moan pierced the air as her back curved off the bed. He could feel her walls pulsate around his fingers as her hips thrust desperately upwards to prolong the pleasure.

Mako withdrew his fingers, eliciting a groan from her from the lack of contact.

"Shhh," he kissed her, a hand snaking into her hair.

Her eyes were closed as she relaxed into his body, still coming down from climax.

"You know I love you right?"

Korra nodded, "I love you too."

Mako positioned himself between her legs. Carefully, he eased his cock inside her. It was his turn to groan in pleasure. "Y-You feel so good." He sheathed himself in her fully, kissing her hard on the lips.

Somehow, he started slow. Determined to keep it that way at least for a bit.

"Look at me," he rested his forehead on hers. Their eyes met and he could see the want in those blue pools he had come to know so intimately. "I love you."

She could only nod against him, her nails raking over his back.

He couldn't take it any more. Thrust by thrust, he increased the tempo, unable to hold back anymore. Korra's moans grew louder and her hips rocked to meet his every move.

"I-I'm close…"

Immediately he moved a hand down to rub at her clit. There was no use in prolonging her climax. Just watching her face contort in pleasure was enough to send him over the edge. It was a miracle he lasted that long considering how long it had been since he had done this.

Mako caught himself on his elbows, his head hanging and face buried in crook of her neck. "I missed you," he mumbled.

"I missed you too," she nudged him to lie by her side.

He pulled up the covers over them and pulled her as close as he possibly could. "Were you afraid I'd leave when I found out about these?" he caressed one of the markings.

Korra nodded into his chest.

"Well I'm never leaving. You can count on that."

Time truly ends up being the master healer. Time can fix so much, and that of which it cannot rectify it softens.

Korra never placed the covering bandages back on her arm again. It became more than a mark that she beared, but scar she proudly bared to the world.

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**A/N: **Well that was long! Kudos to you if you made it to the end! Drop me a line, review, reblog, like, etc. Thanks for reading as always!


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